ANNAM, VIETNAM & SOUTH-EAST ASIA

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The Nguyen Dynasty ruled Annam (now called Vietnam) for 143 years, from 1802 until 1945.  
This period marks the struggle between the Vietnamese and the French over control of the country.

GIA LONG UNITES VIETNAM AND FOUNDS LAST VIETNAMESE DYNASTY

Gia Long founded the Nguyen Dynasty, which nominally ruled Vietnam from 1802 until 1945. With the assistance of a French Roman Catholic Bishop who helped procure western arms, soldiers and introduced western military tactics, Gia Long defeated the Tay Son Dynasty and the Trinh lords, reuniting Vietnam after centuries of internecine feudal warfare. He was formally crowned emperor in 1802.  He was noted for his Confucian orthodoxy, though allowed Catholicism and Catholic missionaries due to their help in gaining his throne. He restored Confucian education and government exams.

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MINH MANG EXPANDS VIETNAM

Minh Mang became emperor of Vietnam in 1820 upon the death of his father.  He continued his father’s Confucian policies but took up an isolationist approach to foreign relations.   Catholic missionaries were expelled and foreign trade restricted. Though he did not like European culture and thinking, he admired its technologies, especially weaponry and mechanics.  He implemented many reforms, including the redistribution of large landholdings, creating a postal service and improved roads.  He expanded Annamese territory and temporarily annexed Cambodia.  He is said to have fathered 142 children from 43 wives and concubines!

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THIEU TRI CLASHES WITH FRANCE

Thieu Tri was the eldest son of Minh Mang, came to the throne of Annam in 1841 upon the death of his father.  He continued his father's policies of isolationism and the entrenchment of Confucianism in the face of France and Great Britian vying for control of South East Asia. In 1847 France attacked and destroyed all Vietnamese costal forts after he imprisoned French Christian missionaries.  Thieu Tri then demanded that all Christians be executed on the spot, however he died in 1847 before any were actually executed

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TU DUC’S DISASTROUS REIGN

Tu Duc was the last independent Emperor of Annam.  His reign from 1847 to 1883 was a disaster.  His father chose him over his elder and more moderate brother, setting off a rebellion within the royal family. He continued the persecution against Christians.  France and Spain responded by attacking the south and capturing Saigon.  He faced numerous natural disasters including a cholera epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands, unusually heavy rains followed by extreme drought, typhoons and a plague of locusts.  Frequent rebellions broke out due to the governments repressive policies.  Chinese Muslims invaded and took over copper mines which were needed to produce the copper cash coins used in most transactions.  Other Chinese rebels attempted to gain control over other parts of the country.  Faced with multiple rebellions, his collapsing authority and French troops marching towards the capital, he chose to make a deal the hated French in order to crush the rebels, who most likely would have deposed and killed him. The French demanded humiliating concessions, including making Annam a French protectorate, taking direct control over a portion of southern Vietnam, allowing the free practice of Catholicism and opening up ports to French traders.  In 1882 Tu Duc then asked the Chinese to send troops to drive out the French.  The Chinese sent 200,000 troops, however Tu Duc died shortly thereafter in 1883, leaving no sons. According to legend, he cursed the French with his dying breath.

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FRENCH MAKE DONG KHANH EMPEROR OF ANNAM

Tu Duc died on July 19, 1883 leaving no male heirs.  This left the court in chaos at a time when the French and Chinese were fighting over control of Annam. Annam went through four emperors in the next 14 months before the French installed 21 year old Dong Khanh as Emperor on September 19, 1885. He loved to wear luxurious jewelry and adopted French culture.  He died in 1889 after reigning only 3 1/2 years.  Annam was effectively now under French control, with the emperor having little real power.

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THAN THAI RESISTS THE FRENCH

French authorities and high-ranking mandarins selected 10 year old Than Thai to become emperor of Annam upon the death of his father Dong Khan.  He was highly intelligent and young enough that the French thought he could be kept under their control.  Instead he took a course of passive-resistance to the French though biting remarks and symbolic gestures. He connected with his citizens though impromptu "town hall meetings" and by sneaking out of the palace dressed as a commoner.  In 1907 while on his way to join a resistance movement in China when he was arrested by the French.  They declared him insane, forced him to abdicate and into exile.  He was finally able to return to Vietnam in 1947 and died in Saigon at age 75 in 1954.

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A YOUNG DUY TAN CONTINUES RESISTANCE TO THE FRENCH

After the forced abdication of his father, the French selected seven year old Duy Tan as the next emperor of Annam.   They hoped that someone so young would easily fall under their influence. He soon noticed that even though he was emperor, all power laid in the French colonial authorities.  In 1916, while France was preoccupied with World War I, he joined a plot to overthrow the French colonial rule.  The plot was discovered. Duy Tan was forced to abdicate and sent into exile with his father on the island of Reunion.   During World War II he joined the Free French forces.  In 1945, following the abdication of Bao Dai, the French proposed again making Duy Tan ruler of Vietnam as an alternative to Ho Chi Minh.  However, he died in a plane crash in Africa on his way back to Vietnam.

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A PLIANT KHAI DINH TAKES THE THRONE

After having to force the two previous emperors to abdicate due to their anti-French positions, the French chose Khai Dinh to be the next emperor of Annam in 1916.  He was the son of Emperor Dong Khanh who died in 1889.  Like his father, he was submissive to the French and opposed independence.  In 1918 he decreed that Romanized Vietnamese replace Chinese as the official written language (though Chinese continued to be used on Annamese coins).  He was highly unpopular due to his collaboration with the French, luxurious living and raising taxes on peasants to pay for his palatial royal tomb.  He was addicted to drugs and was homosexual.  He died of tuberculosis in 1926.  Unlike most Annamese cash coins, this is machine struck rather than cast.

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BAO DAI, THE LAST EMPEROR OF ANNAM

Bao Dai, the only son of Khai Dinh, became Emperor of Annam at age 12 in 1926.  Even after becoming emperor he continued his studies in France and collaborated with the French.  In March 1945, at the urging of the Japanese, he declared an independent Empire of Vietnam, without French control.  After the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, Ho Chi Minh persuaded him to abdicate, turning power over to the Viet Minh. In exchange Ho appointed him "Supreme Advisor".  That position lasted less than a year. In 1949 the French made him the first "Chief of State" of the newly formed State of Vietnam.  He was ousted in 1955 by Ngo Dinh Diem.. He died in exile in France in 1997.

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ONLY COIN OF TONKIN 

Tonkin was a French protectorate, that later became part of North Vietnam.  Tonkin issued only a single coin, a zinc 1/600 Piastre, (1/6 cent) dated 1905.   The coin, commonly called a Sapeque, was intended to replace the widely used Annamese cash coins in circulation.  It was struck in the style of a cash coin: round with a square hole.  One side of the coin had Chinese legends, the other had French legends.  The coin was struck at the Paris Mint. It was unpopular with the Vietnamese and most never entered circulation. The coin is technically Uncirculated, however it will have some spots as is typical of older zinc coins.

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FRENCH INDO-CHINA COIN SET

French Indo-China consisted of the France’s colonies in South-East Asia that later became the Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This three coin set of French Indo-China includes the pre World War ii 1, 5 and 10 Cents. The bronze 1 Cent portrays an allegorical image of France sheltering and looking down on an allegorical image of Indo-China.  The back has the denomination in Chinese.  The coin dates between about 1920 to 1939 and has a center hole.  The nickel-brass 5 Cent features the head of Marianne - the personification of France, and two cornucopias around a center hole.  It is dated 1938 or 1939.  The 10 Cents depicts the bust of Marianne and a laurel branch on the front and a rice plant and the denomination on the reverse. It is dated between 1939 and 1941.

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EMERGENCY WORLD WAR II COIN OF FRENCH INDO CHINA

During World War II the French administrators in French Indo China closely collaborated with both the Germans and Japanese.  As the war progressed the country soon faced a severe coin shortage and found themselves largely cut off from the rest of the world. In 1943 French officials in Hanoi gave emergency authorization for an school in Hanoi, the Ecole Pratique, to strike aluminum 1 Centime coins using whatever makeshift equipment they could assemble.  The coins bear the name of the Vichy government "Etat Francais".  The coin is Uncirculated but may be weakly struck or have minor minting flaws.

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LAST COIN OF FRENCH INDO-CHINA 

This 1947 1 Piastre was the last coin struck for French Indo-China before it broke into the nations of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In 1947 the Viet-Minh and other groups were fighting for independence. The obverse of the 34.5 mm coin pictures Marianne, the female personification of France.  Sprigs of grain and the denomination are on the reverse. The coin has a reeded edge.

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SCARCE VIET-MINH COINS

As World War II drew to a close, Japanese, Chinese, French and Vietnamese forces all battled for control of Vietnam.  These coins were issued by the Viet-Minh under Ho Chih Minh in 1946. The coins circulated only briefly before being withdrawn in 1948.  The aluminum 5 Hao coin shows a ceremonial urn on one side and the denomination incused in a five pointed star on the other. The large (33mm) aluminum 1 Dong features a portrait of Ho Chih Minh.   Both were struck from scrap aluminum and tend to have minor corrosion. The bronze 2 Dong was made from melted Annamese cash coins and shell cases left by retreating French forces.  It features the bust of Ho Chih Minh. Because the coins were struck under primitive conditions using makeshift equipment, they tend to be crudely struck with weak areas in the design.

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NORTH VIETNAM COINS

In 1958 North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) issued their first coins since 1946 and the first coins since gaining independence from France in 1955.  The three coins consisted of the aluminum 1, 2 and 5 Xu.  All three are aluminum and have a center hole.  The coins have the modified arms of North Vietnam on one side and the denomination and date on the other.

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SOUTH VIETNAM LIBERATION COINS

Shortly after the fall of South Vietnam, North Vietnam issued special "Liberation" coins.  South Vietnamese were forced to exchange their coins and currency at the rate of 500 South Vietnamese Dong for 1 Liberation Dong.  Thus the 1 Xu coin was worth 5 South Vietnamese Dong.  1, 2 and 5 Xu coins were issued.  The 2 Xu is dated 1975, the other two are undated.  The aluminum coins are slightly smaller than the 1958 North Vietnam coins.

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POLYMER BANKNOTES FROM VIETNAM

This set of two polymer banknotes from Socialist Republic of Vietnam includes the 10,000 and 20,000 Dong issued between 2011 and 2021.  The front of the notes  feature Ho Chi Minh and the arms of Vietnam.  The back of the 10,000 Dong note depicts offshore oil platforms.  The back of the of the 20,000 Dong pictures the Japanese Pagoda Bridge in Hoi An.  Hoi An was an important trading port until the 19th Century. The bridge was built in the 1600's by Japanese traders who lived on one side of the bridge, while the Vietnamese lived on the other.  It is the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist Pagoda attached to it.   The notes contain numerous anti-counterfeiting devices, including a "watermark", front/back registration marks, and a clear window that shows the denomination. 

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 PATHET LAO LIBERATION BANKNOTE 

In April 1968, the communist Pathet Lao forces introduced these notes in the areas of the Laos that they controlled.  Following their victory in 1975 the notes were used throughout Laos.  This red 10 Kip issued by the Patht Lao depicts nurses with patients and soldiers planting bamboo booby-traps. Maybe the nurses are treating the unintended victems of the booby-traps.

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THE COINS OF LAOS

The Kingdom of Laos issued its first coins in 1952, when it gained independence from France.  The coins and consisted of the 10, 20 and 50 Cents struck in aluminum at the Paris Mint. All three coins were struck with a center hole. It appears the hole was an afterthought in the design process as it pierces the center of the design, rather than incorporating the hole into an artistic design.  The 10 Cents depicts the head of a Lao woman. The 20 Cents features a three-headed elephant from the Laotian flag and coat of arms, representing the former kingdoms that came together to make Laos.  The 50 Cents features a book on a pedestal, representing the constitution. The reverses feature a floral pattern around the center hole. The communist-backed Pathet Lao began a civil war as soon the country gained independence. The war continued until 1975 when the government surrendered after the fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia.  It was not until 1980 that Laos issued its second set of coins for general circulation. These consisted of the 10, 20 and 50 Att, also struck in aluminum, and issued by the Lao People's Democratic Republic.  The designs of 1980 coins feature the denomination in large numbers, with a small picture below. A woman holding grain is on the 10 Att, a farmer plowing is on the 20 Att and a fish is on the 50 Att.  The reverse features the national arms, which include a hammer and sickle.  Laos has not issued any coins for circulation since then.

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ATTRACTIVE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA COIN SET

This three coin set from the Kingdom of Cambodia includes the aluminum 10, 20 and 50 Sen coins dated 1959. The 10 Sen pictures an ornate Garuda bird.  The 20 Sen features a bound Constitution on an urn with the sun above and water below.  The Royal coat-of-arms is on the 50 Sen.  All three coins are Uncirculated.

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RARE UNRELEASED KHMER REPUBLIC COIN

This rare 1970 dated 1 Riel of the Khmer Republic (now Cambodia) was to be the first Cambodian coin issued for circulation since 1959!  It was struck by the British Royal Mint and was to be issued as part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's coin program to encourage farmers to grow more food.  Then disaster struck!  The Cambodian government was overthrown  and the economy collapsed and so the coin was never issued into circulation..  Pictured on one side is a Temple at Angkor Wat..  The other side features rice plants.  Though the coins have never circulated, they were stored in a damp, tropical environment, so  show some minor corrosion.

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TRADITIONAL THEMES ON CAMBODIAN COINS   

In 1994, with the restoration of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the return of peace after decades of war, Cambodia issued its first coins for circulation in 15 years.  They are also the last coins Cambodia has released into circulation.  The four coin set consists of the steel 50, 100 and 200 Riels coins and the bi-metallic 500 Riels. The designs were largely taken from previous coin issues and feature traditional Cambodian themes. The 500 Riels features the Royal coat-of-arms that was used on the 50 Sen of 1959.  The 200 Riels has the Consititution and urn design that was used on the 1959 20 Sen coin.   The 100 Riels depicts a temple at Angkor Wat that was used on the unreleased 1970 1 Riel coin.  The 50 Riels pictures Independence Monument in Phnom Penh. It was built in 1958 to celebrate Cambodia's independence from France. Cambodian legends are on the reverse of each coin. 

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THAILAND'S FIRST COMMEMORATIVE COIN CELEBRATES WORLD TOUR

In June 1960 Thai King Bhumibol, Queen Sirikit and their children began a six-month world tour that included the United States and 14 European nations. The young king strengthened diplomatic ties and helped create a glamourous image of the King, Queen and Thailand.  Thailand commemorated their return from the successful journey in January 1961 with its first ever circulating commemorative coin.  The 29.6mm copper-nickel coin depicts the busts of the king and queen on the obverse. Above them is a Trisula-in-Chakra which is the symbol of their royal dynasty. Thailand’s traditional Royal coat of arms is on the reverse.

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THAILAND BI-METALLIC 10 BAHT COMMEMORATIVES

Thailand introduced circulating bi-metallic 10 Baht commemorative coins in 1995.  Since then it has issued a wide range of these popular coins honoring numerous important events, anniversaries,  government agencies and  celebrations of the Royal Family.  Though the coins are reasonably priced and popular with collectors, they can be difficult to obtain.  One of our correspondents has put together a collection of 61 different of these commemorative coins.  This remarkable set includes nearly all of the 10 Baht coins issued thus far, all in Uncirculated condition, and at less than $3 per coin.  It would be a difficult set to put together at any price.

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COINS OF THE NEW KING OF THAILAND  

Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindrade-bayavarangkun, also known as King Rama X, ascended to the throne of Thailand after the death of this father, Rama IX, in 2017.  He has spent most of his life outside of Thailand and has a reputation for being a playboy. He has been married and divorced three times, including a marriage to his first cousin.  Thailand introduced a new set of coins bearing his portrait on the obverse and his royal monogram on the reverse in 2018.  The coins include the 25 and 50 Satang, 1, 2, 5 and bi-metallic 10 Baht.

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